Sichel G, Corsaro C, Scalia M, Sciuto S, Geremia E
Cell Biochem Funct. 1987 Apr;5(2):123-8. doi: 10.1002/cbf.290050207.
The scavenger effect of melanin and of superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity on superoxide anion has been shown. In this work we show the relationship between melanin content and SOD activity in livers containing different quantities of melanin which were taken from various species of animals. The mitochondrial SOD activity disappears when the melanin content in the liver is very high; moreover it increases, in the liver of various species of animals examined, proportionally to the decrease of melanin content. No significant variation of the SOD activity localized in the soluble fraction has been detected when related to the melanin content. We think that in the pigmented liver the antioxidant activity of the melanin could mimic part of the function of SOD. The loss of Mn SOD activity could be mediated by a low intracellular level of superoxide anion due to the scavenger effect of melanin on superoxide anion; in fact, it is well known that the biosynthesis of Mn SOD is induced by intracellular levels of superoxide anion.
黑色素和超氧化物歧化酶（SOD）活性对超氧阴离子具有清除作用已得到证实。在本研究中，我们展示了取自不同动物物种、含有不同量黑色素的肝脏中黑色素含量与SOD活性之间的关系。当肝脏中黑色素含量非常高时，线粒体SOD活性消失；此外，在所检测的不同动物物种的肝脏中，SOD活性随黑色素含量的降低而成比例增加。当与黑色素含量相关时，未检测到可溶性部分中SOD活性有显著变化。我们认为，在色素沉着的肝脏中，黑色素的抗氧化活性可能部分模拟了SOD的功能。由于黑色素对超氧阴离子的清除作用，导致细胞内超氧阴离子水平较低，可能介导了锰超氧化物歧化酶（Mn SOD）活性的丧失；事实上，众所周知，Mn SOD的生物合成是由细胞内超氧阴离子水平诱导的。
